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The Writers Lab, produced by IRIS and New York Women in Film & Television and supported by Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman, is open for submissions of screenplays by women over the age of 40

ABOUT THE LAB

The Writers Lab brings 12 women screenwriters over the age of 40 with promising scripts together with outstanding professional female filmmakers for an intensive four-day screenwriting development retreat of one-on-one meetings, panel discussions and other activities designed to inspire the artists; to prompt rigorous creative exploration; and, through revision, to cultivate first-rate cinematic stories.

We seek a broad selection of screenplays across all genres of fiction. Scripts by more than one writer will be considered, but all writers must be female, and only one writer can attend the Lab.
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The Writers Lab, produced by IRIS and New York Women in Film & Television and supported by Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman, is open for submissions of screenplays by women over the age of 40

ABOUT THE LAB

The Writers Lab brings 12 women screenwriters over the age of 40 with promising scripts together with outstanding professional female filmmakers for an intensive four-day screenwriting development retreat of one-on-one meetings, panel discussions and other activities designed to inspire the artists; to prompt rigorous creative exploration; and, through revision, to cultivate first-rate cinematic stories.

We seek a broad selection of screenplays across all genres of fiction. Scripts by more than one writer will be considered, but all writers must be female, and only one writer can attend the Lab. We welcome submissions from professionals, amateurs, and everyone in between who has a story to tell and a cinematic vision. Selections are based on the script’s artistic merit and craftsmanship, not the applicant's level of professional experience. Now accepting international script submissions.

MISSION

The Writers Lab is dedicated to developing promising feature scripts of cinematic scope and imagination, in all genres, by women screenwriters over the age of 40, as part of the movement to amplify the female voice in narrative film. We are committed to female storytellers, yet do not limit our search to stories about women.

Deadline/Entry Fees

The 2019 Writers Lab will be open for submissions Feb 1 – Mar 15, 2019.

Rules

Requirements

Applicants must have a birth date on or prior to February 28, 1978.

Submissions must be full-length narrative screenplays in English (no TV scripts, shorts or documentaries) exclusively by writers who identify as female.

The Lab invites submissions from all racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, and cultural groups. 4) Previous applicants reapplying should do so with revised drafts.

Materials (submitted electronically)

A PDF of a feature-length narrative screenplay.

Contact information and log line.

Payment via Paypal or with a Credit Card

Awards

The Writers Lab brings 12 women screenwriters over the age of 40 with promising scripts together with outstanding professional female filmmakers for an intensive four-day screenwriting development retreat of one-on-one meetings, panel discussions and other activities designed to inspire the artists; to prompt rigorous creative exploration; and, through revision, to cultivate first-rate cinematic stories.

The 2018 Writers Lab will take place September 25 to 29, 2018, outside of New York City. The Writers Lab is funded by Meryl Streep for the fourth year, and produced by IRIS and New York Women In Film & Television in collaboration with the Writers Guild of America, East, with support from The Black List, Relativity Media, Stony Brook Southampton+Manhattan and Tribeca Film Institute.

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Writers Lab Releases Participant Loglines

The Writers Lab, supported by Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman, has released the loglines of this year's twelve participant scripts.

The Writers Lab 2018 Scripts

AN AUSTRIAN HOLIDAY, by Ann Hawker
Drama: A proud woman with Alzheimer’s sets out across Europe for an assisted suicide clinic in Switzerland, pursued by her daughter who is determined not to let her mother succeed.

DAWN, HER DAD & THE TRACTOR, by Shelley Thompson
Drama: Five years after leaving home, a young transgender woman returns to her estranged father, keeping a deathbed promise to her mother. As they restore the old family tractor together, they come to understand the mechanics of the heart.

DIPLOMATIC CORPS, by Nadia Fares
Drama: The favorite son of an Egyptian diplomat assists his father at the U.N. in New York to accomplish a prestigious mission, but when a journalist threatens to reveal his homosexuality, the brilliant young man must choose between family and truth.

LILA ROSE, by Gail Segal
Drama: A young mother and Iraq War widow who works the line in a school bus factory must decide if she will use her gift with a fiddle to carry her out of southwest Georgia for good.

NEXUS, by Shelagh McLeod
Sci fi: After a cataclysmic event in space, an astronaut returns to Earth a stranger. Grappling with the truth of her encounter, she is torn between her life on Earth and the unknown beyond.

ONE WHITE CROW, by Pippa Hinchley
Historical Biopic: In 1890, a brilliant scientist who debunks fraudulent spiritualists and a Bostonian housewife with an apparent ability to communicate with the dead prove there is life after death. Based on a true story.

ON THE WING, by Lynn Esta Goldman
Drama: After a miraculous recovery from a terminal illness, a young African-American woman sets out to confront the mother who abandoned her -- with an eleven-year old boy from a foster home who insists on coming along.

SUSPENDED BELIEF, by Catherine Craig
Drama: A camera woman flees her abusive husband with her children but when the shelter system can’t protect her she finds unlikely allies in an oddball special effects studio.